What Bledsoe didn’t do Sunday

IRVING — Drew Bledsoe passed for two touchdowns and 237 yards in Sunday’s 27-10 victory over the Redskins.

He also threw the ball away four times.

Bill Parcells is more impressed with the later statistic.

“Those are the things that go unnoticed by the laymen,” Parcells said. “He threw four balls away, which is good.”

Strong-armed quarterbacks like Bledsoe believe they can make almost every pass. Double coverage? No problem, they’ll just zing it in there for a completion.

That’s what got Bledsoe into trouble last week when he threw three interceptions in a 24-17 loss to the Jaguars. On Sunday, he was much smarter, choosing to get rid of the ball when no one was open or when pressure was closing in.

“Ninety-five of his decisions were good,” Parcells said. “There were only one or two of what I would call errant throws.”

Of course, it helped that Bledsoe also got great protection. The offensive line, led by left tackle Flozell Adams, turned in a solid performance that left Bledsoe plenty of time to scan the field.

But Parcells being Parcells, he focused on the one sack the line surrendered.

“It was on maximum protection, with a two-man pattern,” Parcells said. “Now, that’s pretty hard to do — give up a sack on that. But we did it. That means we’ve got eight blocking, two running and one throwing. We ought to be able to hold them out.”

Parcells, however, praised Adams and center Andre Gurode.

“He did a good job,” Parcells said of Adams, who had a strong outing after struggling in Jacksonville.

The Observation Deck

&#8226 Michael Irvin said on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown that Terrell Owens told him today that he didn’t leave last night’s game because he wanted to continue to draw double-coverage from the Redskins.

Owens broke his right ring finger early in the game and went on to drop four balls. But he told Irvin the double-teams he drew freed things up for Terry Glenn, who finished with a six receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown.

Tom Jackson, who doesn’t attempt to hide his disdain for Owens, greeted T.O.’s claim with skepticism.